Engine Room Boxing Gym Moves to Gunboat Park
GETTING FIT: Construction for the Engine Room Boxing Gym is underway and the historic facility is scheduled to be ready for the July 6 open house at the 316 E. 11th Street location in Gunboat Park. Celebrations begin with an open house on Monday July 6, followed by classes starting Wednesday July 8. The move will more than triple the gym’s size, making it one of the biggest boxing gyms in the region.
Tulsa’s Engine Room Boxing Gym announces its new facility in a completely renovated, historic building in Gunboat Park (316 E. 11 St.). Celebrations begin with an open house on Monday July 6, followed by classes starting Wednesday July 8. The move will more than triple the gym’s size, making it one of the biggest boxing gyms in the region.
“We’ve had seven great years in Tulsa’s Pearl District, but we’ve simply outgrown that space,” said owner and head coach Aaron Sloan. “This move enables us to accommodate more members, offer more classes, and expand our programming to include yoga, resistance training and stretching classes, too. We’ll be able to train more fighters and provide more options for our general membership, including concurrent classes for adults and kids.”
The 75-year-old building on the southeast edge of downtown originally housed a cab company. Sloan and his fiancée Tamara Wagman, who is a partner at Frederic Dowart, Lawyers PLLC and the developer (RHBH, LLC) behind the project, worked with Studio 45 Architects and Emeritus Construction to retain and restore many of the building’s original features, such as the exposed brick walls, large storefront windows and steel fire door, while updating the space with modern amenities. The result is an aesthetically pleasing blend of functional industrial design with the latest in sports technology: an old school boxing gym feel with all of the bells and whistles.
Three unique spaces within the gym allow for a separate yoga room and a new area for the Engine Room’s Ready to Fight Parkinson’s-Specific Boxing Program (RTF). Designed by Sloan, who is also a registered cardiac nurse, RTF is the official therapy-boxing program of USA Boxing, the national governing body for Olympic-style amateur boxing.
Wagman worked with Bank of Oklahoma to secure financing for the project. Gunboat Park is in a designated Qualified Opportunity Zone, which enabled Wagman to utilize a federal tax incentive to invest in this up-and-coming mixed-use area.
“Aaron and I are grateful for this opportunity to invest in downtown Tulsa,” said Wagman. “We’ve seen so many positive changes in this neighborhood since we began this project, and we’re happy to be a part of its revitalization.”
The Engine Room has planned an open house with tours for Monday, July 6 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
